This section provides background information related to tuner devices for stringed instruments which is not necessarily prior art to the inventive concepts associated with the present disclosure.
Stringed instruments require string tuning devices, in order to adjust the pitch of one or many tones from various strings in order to establish typical intervals between the different tones provided by the strings. It is important for the stringed instrument to be tuned and thus remain in tune, as an “out of tune” instrument will exhibit a pitch/tone that is either too high (sharp) or too low (flat) in relation to a given/desired reference pitch. While an instrument might be in tune relative to its own range of notes, it may not be considered ‘in tune’ if it does not match the chosen reference pitch. Some instruments can become ‘out of tune’ with temperature, humidity, damage, or just time, and must be retuned periodically.
Current state of the art for sting tuner devices are planetary geared tuning devices used on banjos and guitars, which can be are limited to a considered too low 4:1 gear ratio of reduction. These existing 4:1 ratio tuners are extremely temperamental/sensitive due to the lower 4:1 ratio and can require continual re-tuning to hold the instrument in tune. The use of a planetary gearing system only provides a very minimal holding power between the gears. As a result of this limiting design, the gears tend to back wind when under string tension, and cause the string to “un-tune” itself. To somewhat overcome this problem, the musician has to constantly re-tension the screw holding the tuner button (knob) which creates temporary friction between the internal planetary gears and the exterior tuner housing. This has become a major complaint in the banjo industry that has not been resolved to date.
Because of this issue, many professional musicians find it best to remove the planetary tuners and install higher ratio worm gear tuning devices when performing on stage. For worm gear tuners, as normally used on the guitar, the preferred tuning ratio is between 10:1 and 18:1, which assures accurate and smooth string tuning. However, even though the worm gear tuners as used on the majority of guitars today does solve the tuning issues for a banjo, these worm tuners are not preferred by many musicians as they appear out of place being mounted on a banjo and are not traditional in look/style. For example, the worm gear tuners are larger in form factor over that of the planetary gear tuners, and thus the worm gear tuners are not preferred by banjo players.